centrope Regional Development Monitoring. Focus Report on Human Capital, Education and Labour Markets

Transcription

1 centrope Regional Development Monitoring. Focus Report on Human Capital, Education and Labour Markets

2 centrope partners Austria Federal Province of Burgenland Federal Province of Lower Austria Federal Province and City of Vienna City of Eisenstadt City of St. Pölten Czech Republic South Moravian Region City of Brno Vysočina Region (observer) Hungary Győr-Moson-Sopron County Vas County City of Győr City of Sopron City of Szombathely Slovakia Bratislava Self-Governing Region Trnava Self-Governing Region City of Bratislava City of Trnava centrope agency centrope coordination office I thematic and operative co-ordination, communication & secretariat: Europaforum Wien, Rahlgasse 3/2, A-1060 Wien, office@centrope.info centrope local offices I regional project management & co-operation nodes: Office Austria I focus responsibility knowledge region : Regionalmanagement Niederösterreich, hermann.hansy@euregio-veinviertel.eu RMB Regionalmanagement Burgenland, daniela.schuster@rmb.co.at VBA Vienna Business Agency, tatzberger@wirtschaftsagentur.at Office Czech Republic I focus responsibility human capital : HOPE-E.S., v.o.s., pala@euservis.cz Office Hungary I focus responsibility spatial integration : CEURINA NKft, szokolayors@invitel.hu Office Slovakia I focus responsibility culture & tourism : Slovenský Dom Centrope, domcentropy@gmail.com This brochure presents key findings of the centrope Regional Development Focus Report on Human Capital, Education and Labour Markets. Consortium of the centrope capacity pilot project Regional Development Monitoring Austrian Institute of Economic Research Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Economic Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences, West Hungarian Research Institute of the Centre for Regional Studies The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies

3 Content Introduction: a favourable labour market situation, at least in European terms 3 The labour markets of centrope: structural similarities and limited effects of liberalisation 4 Education in centrope: a high share of students but low student mobility 8 Policy conclusions: overcoming barriers to mobility 11 centrope

4 10.0 Figure 1: Development of unemployment rates in centrope ( , in %) EU-27 centrope Source: Eurostat Figure 2: Employment rates by age groups in centrope (2010, in %) 85.0 EU-27 centrope Source: Eurostat From 15 to 24 years From 25 to 34 years From 35 to 44 years From 45 to 54 years From 55 to 64 years

5 Introduction: a favourable labour market situation, at least in European terms A first glance at the main macroeconomic aggregate labour market indicators already suggests that centrope is a region with a more favourable labour market situation than the EU-27 average. The unemployment rate of the region as a whole has been continuously about 2 percentage points below the European average in each and every year since 2000 (Fig. 1). Also, most of the regions of centrope are privileged in terms of unemployment rates relative to their respective countries. This applies in particular to the Hungarian and Slovak parts of centrope but also to the Austrian provinces of Lower Austria and Burgenland. Only Trnava Region and Vas County had an unemployment rate above the EU-27 average for Similar evidence also applies to employment growth and employment rates: since 2005 (i.e. the year after the EU accession of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic), employment grew more rapidly (or declined less) in centrope than the EU average for all years except 2006, and since 2004 the cumulative employment growth advantage of centrope over the EU-27 amounted to 1.2 percentage points (Fig. 2). Moreover, the aggregate employment rates in centrope exceed the EU average by 4.3 percentage points. Over the past decade, the labour market of centrope experienced substantial institutional changes. Specifically, free movement of labour was granted as per 1 May 2011 for labour migrants from the 2004 EU accession countries to Austria. Thus centrope now vaunts an integrated labour market, at least formally. In Austria, it was expected that liberalisation would lead to increased labour supply of foreigners from the 2004 EU accession countries by around 25,000 persons in the first year. This forecast proved true. According to Austrian Labour Market Service data, 21,736 additional employees from the 2004 EU accession countries entered the labour market up to December Given the good labour market situation in centrope and the substantial institutional changes introduced last year, this Focus Report aims to determine stylised facts, recent trends, common problems and potential areas of co-operation in the field of labour market policy among the centrope regions. In particular, this paper presents a detailed analysis of the structure of employment and unemployment in centrope, the extent of spatial mismatch and the factors impeding and enhancing student mobility in the region. The brochure at hand provides a summary of the findings of the Focus Report on Human Capital, Education and Labour Markets, elaborated as part of the pilot action centrope Regional Development Monitoring. The full version of the report can be downloaded free of charge from the website 03

6 The labour markets of centrope: structural similarities and limited effects of liberalisation 04 Two common labour market problems include low employment rates of older workers and high unemployment rates of the less skilled. Despite the generally good labour market situation in centrope, the results of this study highlight some remaining common challenges of labour market policy. One problem shared by almost all regions of centrope is the low employment rate of older workers (i.e. persons aged 55 to 64 years). While employment rates for the centrope average are higher (by 2 to 9 percentage points) than for the EU-27 average regarding all other age and gender groups, they are consistently lower (by 6.5 percentage points on an average) for older workers (aged 55 to 64 years). Furthermore, this stylised fact applies to all regions of centrope. From a policy perspective, this implies that joint cross-border initiatives in the areas of active labour market policy and training to increase the employment opportunities of older workers may be an area for co-operation in cross-border labour mar- ket policy. To address this problem, labour market actors could exchange their experience with labour market policies directed at this target group but also co-operate in designing new active labour market measures or building awareness for the needs and capabilities of older workers in the labour market. A second shared problem is the high unemployment rate of the less skilled, in particular in the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian parts of centrope. Despite low aggregate unemployment rates, the unemployment rates for less skilled workers in centrope attain over 15% in some regions of centrope. In the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian parts of centrope, the difference in unemployment rates between the highly-skilled and the low-skilled is substantially above the EU-27 average, implying a disproportionate concentration of unemployment problems among the low-skilled in centrope. Policies directed at retraining and qualifying less-skilled or low-skilled workers are therefore essential to combat unemployment in the region. Furthermore, a common stylised fact applying to all regions of centrope except for the capital city regions of Vienna and Bratislava is a strong focus on medium-skilled human resource segments that is

7 The labour markets of centrope: structural similarities and limited effects of liberalisation Table 1: Unemployment rates by education groups: centrope and EU-27 (2010, in %) EU-27 centrope Pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education First and second stages of tertiary education Source: Eurostat. also reflected in centrope s strong industrial base. Almost 70% of the economically active in the region (as opposed to 48.6% on an EU average) have intermediary (vocational or upper secondary) education. When looking at employment by occupations, this difference remains but is slightly attenuated. This reflects positively on centrope s education system because students are provided with skills that can also be used in higher-level occupations. Guaranteeing and improving the employability of the workforce with intermediary education will therefore be an important condition for continued labour market success in the region, which should also be reflected in cross-border programmes (see below). A high share of unemployment due to mismatch is another important shared problem. Both skill mismatch (i.e. different levels of labour supply and demand by skill groups) and regional mismatch (i.e. different levels of labour supply and demand across regions) contribute substantially to unemployment in the region. In particular, the regional mismatch component of unemployment signals a lack of (cross-border) mobility. Our analysis, which made use of the centrope Labour Market Monitoring Tool to collect data on unemployment and vacancies, was able to quantify this spatial mismatch component by assuming total worker mobility in centrope The high and persistent regional employment mismatch in centrope provides some indication of the barriers to mobility still existing in the region... and then calculating a maximum share of unemployment for ten selected occupational groups. This analysis points to marked heterogeneousness in the distribution of labour supply and labour demand across centrope. On an average for 2010 and 2011 and depending on the occupation considered, unemployment percentages between 4.9% (for IT specialists) and 22.7% (CNC operators) in centrope would disappear given total worker mobility in the region. Although total mobility is clearly an unrealistic assumption, the high and persistent regional employment mismatch in centrope even within closely defined occupations provides some indication of the barriers to mobility still existing in the region and highlights the potential gains that could arise if internal migration and commuting (and thus labour mobility) could be stepped up in centrope. Furthermore, the average mismatch rates over 2010 and 2011 suggest that this regional employment mismatch accounts for over 20% of total unemployment for butchers and social workers and for 10% to 20% of all unemployment for welders, bricklayers, drivers, CNC operators and logistics workers. This underlines the importance of increasing cross-border mobility for persons with intermediate apprenticelevel qualifications. 05

8 The labour markets of centrope: structural similarities and limited effects of liberalisation v Cook 9.7 Waiter 6.3 Butcher 22.7 Social Worker/ Care 22.0 Source: centrope Labour Market Monitoring Tool. Note: Table reports averages over quarters for 2010 and CNC Operator 19.0 Welder 11.2 Figure 3: Share of unemployment due to regional employment mismatch and vacancies for selected occupations in centrope (in %) Bricklayer IT Specialist Driver 13.8 Logistic Worker 12.6 Table 2: Increase in number of foreign workers from 2004 accession countries in Austria (May 2011-January 2012) Absolute In % of workers Total change in Austria 23, Of which - Male 15, Female 8, Migrant 12, Commuter 10, To Burgenland 1, To Lower Austria 4, To Vienna 7, From Czech Republic 1, From Slovakia 4, From Hungary 10, Sources: AMS Erwerbskarrierenmonitoring, WIFO calculations.

9 The labour markets of centrope: structural similarities and limited effects of liberalisation Free movement of labour has led to an increase in immigration to Austria, yet signs of negative labour market effects are rare. Low cross-border and internal mobility in centrope at all qualification levels is one important reason contributing to persistent unemployment. With 1 May 2011, however, the institutional regime affecting crossborder labour mobility within centrope changed dramatically, as the derogation periods for the free movement of workers ended. From this day on, citizens of countries that joined the EU on 1 May 2004, who previously needed a permit to legally work in Austria, could assume a position without any further legal requirements. While it is clearly still too early to fully analyse the extent and structure of additional cross-border mobility induced by this liberalisation, findings of the labour market monitoring database of Labour Market Service (AMS) Austria indicate that by January 2012 the volume of foreign workers from 2004 EU accession countries currently employed in Austria had increased by roughly 24,000 persons (or approx. 0.7% of all workers) relative to 1 May Thus, by and large, migration developed as envisaged in the pre-liberalisation period. Of these new workers, roughly 10,500 were commuters; moreover, over half of all commuters and migrants (13,500) settled in the Austrian part of centrope, with Burgenland in particular experiencing a notable inflow (amounting to 1.7% of its workers) in this period. A large share of these new foreign workers from neighbouring countries now employed in Austria (around 10,500) were Hungarian nationals. With 1 May 2011, however, the institutional regime affecting crossborder labour mobility within centrope changed dramatically... However, an analysis of the ratio between unemployment and job vacancies for the ten selected occupations (cf. above) since the second quarter of 2010 suggests no general and easily visible impact of increased migration in either sending or receiving countries. In Lower Austria, the unemployment/ vacancy ratio increased noticeably for bricklayers (by approx. 10 unemployed per vacancy) since May 2011 (i.e. in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2011) as compared to the same quarter of 2010, while in Burgenland similar trends emerge for cooks (1.6 unemployed per vacancy), waiters (2.0 unemployed per vacancy) and drivers (0.5 unemployed per vacancy); conversely, only few effects are visible in Vienna. Furthermore, the unemployment/vacancy ratio decreased only minimally in the important sending regions of the Hungarian part of centrope. The labour market effects of immigration to Austria since 1 May 2011 hence remained focused on individual sectors (such as construction and gastronomy) and individual regions (in particular Burgenland) without leading to a substantial overall deterioration of the labour market situation. 07

10 Education in centrope: a high share of students but low student mobility The strong university system is a backbone of the centrope education system. Low rates of participation in lifelong learning are a common challenge in centrope. 08 An appraisal of the education system in centrope based on the available Eurostat data and the evidence provided in the country studies of the report shows that the university system is definitely one of the most important advantages of centrope as compared to other EU regions. There are more university-level students per inhabitant in this region than in the EU average (close to 5% of the centrope population as opposed to 4% of the EU population are enrolled at a university), student numbers have also increased more rapidly in centrope (by 30%) than in the EU-27 average (by 7%) in the last decade, and the region has increasingly assumed supra-regional Increased co-operation amongst universities might help to boost the comparative advantage of the region as a whole. importance as a centre of university education. Moreover, the share of doctoral students in the population is above the EU-27 average (0.3% in centrope as opposed to 0.1% for the EU-27 average). Other parts of the education system in centrope, however, show a clear drawback vis-à-vis the EU-27. This applies in particular to lifelong learning, where participation is still very low in the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian parts of centrope and lagging behind the most advanced countries even in Austria. In 2010, only 8.3% of the centrope population over 25 and under 65 years of age took part in some form of formal training, while the percentage in the EU-27 was 9.1%; in some of the most advanced European economies (e.g. Finland and Sweden), in excess of 20% of the population were involved in such activities. The share of lifelong learning activities showed significant differences in the individual parts of centrope, ranging from 17.4% in Vienna and 9.9% in Burgenland, to 6% in Bratislava and the Czech parts of centrope, and under 3% in the remaining Slovak and Hungarian centrope regions. Hence there is substantial room for improvement regarding the implementation of lifelong learning strategies in centrope. Joint initiatives to increase participation

11 Education in centrope: a high share of students but low student mobility in lifelong learning could present another area for co-operation in centrope. Student mobility is low in centrope and mostly directed to other countries. Given the good performance of centrope s university system in terms of teaching, increased co-operation amongst universities as well as intensified student exchange initiatives might further strengthen this system and help to boost the comparative advantage of the region as a whole. To gauge the potential of student mobility, we conducted a survey on mobility behaviour among 3,775 students in centrope. The results showed that most students participating in the survey had not yet followed a curriculum abroad. In all, only 7% of interviewees stated that they had studied abroad before, with higher frequencies for Austrian and Hungarian students than for their Czech and Slovak colleagues (Figure 4). Conversely, close to half of respondents (43%) stated that they had serious plans to study abroad in the future, with only Czech students being noticeably less willing to do so. This implies a high potential of mobility among centrope students. Yet, the most preferred countries for such stays abroad are the UK, Germany, Finland, France and the US, while other centrope countries are less attractive for centrope students. Only 16.6% of interviewees in the Austrian part of centrope, 15.8% of their counterparts in the Slovak centrope regions and 10.5% of respondents in the Czech regions of centrope are willing to consider studying in another centrope country. The only region where students are more disposed to study in other centrope countries is Hungarian centrope, where 38.1% of interviewees could envisage undergoing a curriculum in Austria; 11.9%, in Slovakia; and 7.1%, in the Czech Republic. 60% Figure 4: Past and intended student mobility in centrope (positive responses in %) Source: MENDELU Student Survey, 2011 (total sample size: 3,775 students). 50% Students having studied abroad Students intending to study abroad 40% % 20% 17 10% 12 0% Austrian centrope Hungarian centrope 5 Slovak centrope 7 7 Czech centrope centrope total 09

12 Education in centrope: a high share of students but low student mobility The low prestige of universities and greater attractiveness of more distant, English-speaking locations are the main reasons for not studying in centrope. While increased expertise, the improvement of language skills and the possibility to make new international contacts were the most frequently stated reasons for studying abroad, many respondents also stated that centrope universities were unattractive for them because they would prefer to study in an English-speaking country (between 32% and 49% of interviewees), because they think that centrope universities are not well-known and have low prestige or because they expect an inferior quality of teaching (between 29% and 44% of respondents), or because they prefer destinations farther away (between 12% and 40%). Only few students (between 2% and 7%) had problems with a lack of exchange programmes or bilateral agreements on student exchange in centrope. The competitiveness of centrope as a target destination for study stays abroad thus depends crucially on the prestige of its universities and the possibilities they offer of studying in English. Increasing the prestige of the universities and providing more Englishlanguage training is therefore essential to boost student mobility in the region. In this respect, the examples of Finland or the Netherlands, which are both small countries with little-spoken languages but more attractive for centrope students willing to study abroad than the centrope countries themselves, suggest that such a policy can indeed be successful. Table 3: Reasons for not choosing centrope as a place of study (positive responses in %, multiple answers possible) Students from... Austria Slovakia Czech Hungary Republic I prefer studying in English-speaking countries I do not consider the regions universities to be well-known and prestigious enough. I do not consider the regions universities to be of sufficiently high quality. Lack of bilateral agreements between chosen universities I prefer studying in a location farther away from home. Source: MENDELU Student Survey,

13 Policy conclusions: overcoming barriers to mobility To sum up, it appears that the most important and also a very consistent finding of the current study is that national borders in centrope are still a strong barrier to mobility, irrespective of which part of the population is analysed. This applies to both student mobility, where the attractiveness of centrope relative to other regions seems to be an additional problem, and labour mobility, where evidence suggests that a lack of regional mobility heightens aggregate unemployment in centrope. This calls for measures to reduce barriers to cross-border mobility at all levels of education. enter the growth market. enter centrope. 11

14 Policy conclusions: overcoming barriers to mobility Improving cross-border placement activities could help to avoid mismatch-driven unemployment and increase crossborder labour mobility. potentially yield high rewards by reducing aggregate unemployment in centrope. Furthermore, existing attempts to improve the preconditions for cross-border placement should be continued and expanded. 12 In particular with respect to labour mobility, it must be said that regional mismatch unemployment is still a problem despite liberalised cross-border commuting and migration flows since 1 May 2011, which has indeed increased cross-border labour mobility within centrope. Improving cross-border placement activities is thus a natural starting-point for policies aimed at reducing unemployment in the region. The logical actor to be involved in such a co-operation should be the public employment services (PES) since the PES systems are also responsible for providing job placement in all centrope countries and hence are best suited for these activities. The interviews conducted by us with regional PES organisations in the course of the current project indicate that crossborder placement activities are currently hampered by a long list of practical problems: very often, methods of data exchange and administrative procedures still need to be devised before more intense co-operation on placement activities can be entered into. In addition, some problems arise due to subtle differences in education systems, which lead to some uncertainty as to whether a particular person is or is not qualified for a position in another country. This is particularly true of vocational education, where it is not always clear whether persons with the same formal education also have undergone training with similar contents. As a consequence, a number of projects are currently attempting to improve the preconditions for cross-border placement. These activities could Improving cross-border placement activities is thus a natural startingpoint for policies aimed at reducing unemployment in the region. Exchanging best practices and co-ordinating active labour market policies could improve the situation for individual target groups. Apart from placement per se, active labour market policies also offer major potential for co-operation. In addition to the PES, some regional labour market actors (in particular Territorial Employment Pacts or regional organisations) could also serve as cooperation partners. However, previous relevant experience suggests that this co-operation should focus on specific target groups as well as incorporate some exchange of experience among organisations, since this is usually viewed very positively by the participants in ongoing co-operation ventures. This implies designing and implementing additional measures for specific target groups in areas where they may be expected to produce the greatest benefit (e.g. with respect to minority groups of other states living in centrope countries) as one important activity in cross-border labour market policy; designing and implementing additional measures in areas where common labour market problems are besetting the region (e.g. integration of older as well as of low-skilled workers) are another. Furthermore, increased coordination in existing infrastructure use (e.g. training centres) as well as the exchange of best practices with respect to these target groups likewise open up areas for stronger, more productive co-operation.

15 Policy conclusions: overcoming barriers to mobility Co-operation of education institutions could enhance participation in lifelong learning. The low rates of participation in lifelong learning in many regions of centrope provide another potential field for co-operation of training providers, e.g. schools and adult training institutions. Here, the experience made by the set of learning region strategies formulated and implemented under the Austrian programme for rural development could be used to establish similar, more local activities in a cross-border context. Overall, the results of this programme suggest that better co-ordination of education providers within a region (schools, adult education institutions) in fields like co-ordinated opening and training hours or joint awareness building measures create low-cost possibilities to boost the population s readiness to engage in training measures. Improved co-ordination needs tools to monitor-cross border labour markets. Irrespective of its concrete forms, increased coordination will also require common tools to monitor regional labour market policies. Here, data of sufficient quality and quantity are mostly available to allow operative decisions for labour market governance to be taken at a national level. In the cross-border context, however, differences in definitions and data incomparability very often render national sources useless for the day-to-day business of decision-makers. Designing data sources that are both recent and comparable enough to be useful for operative decisions thus remains a major challenge in centrope. Initiatives currently attempting to design such data (such as e.g. the Labour Market Monitoring Tool used in this study) should therefore be continued and expanded. Efforts must be made to make centrope universities more attractive for international students. Furthermore, student mobility at all levels of education remains another issue in centrope. In this respect, the results of our study highlight a number of potential interventions. With regard to the tertiary education level in particular, the recent student survey shows a high potential for student mobility in centrope. To increase student mobility, English-language university curricula in centrope should therefore be multiplied; moreover, regional authorities could support policies to enhance the reputation of centrope universities through education trade and job fairs, joint workshop series and conferences or by organising student competitions as well as using existing partnerships between cities and regions to support student and teacher exchange programmes Designing data sources that are both recent and comparable enough to be useful for operative decisions thus remains a major challenge in centrope. among centrope universities and schools. In addition, student mobility could be directly supported through scholarships and research fellowships in centrope. 13

16 Policy conclusions: overcoming barriers to mobility Student mobility at all levels of secondary education should be supported. Furthermore, the mobility of secondary-level students needs to be supported as well. While instruments similar to those for the tertiary level can also be used here, requirements may differ in particular with regard to vocational and apprentice schools. Focusing on students or pupils who have no intention of pursuing a university curriculum, foreign-language education outside English particularly with regard to languages spoken in the neighbouring countries should not be neglected. Apart from support for cross-border excursions and educational trips, crossborder scholarships funded wholly or partly by regional and municipal authorities could be drawn upon make mobility more attractive. 14

17 Appendix 1: Factsheet on labour market in centrope centrope EU-27 NUTS 3 level data Unemployment rate in % 7.0% Unemployment rate in % 8.9% Unemployment rate in % 9.6% Employment growth in % 1.2% Employment growth in % - 1.7% Employment growth in % - 0.6% NUTS 2 level data* Employment rates (2010) Employment rate, total 64.7% 60.4% Employment rate, men 71.5% 68.6% Employment rate, women 58.3% 58.3% Employment rate by age group (2010) Age 15 to 24 years 38.5% 36.1% Age 25 to 34 years 77.8% 73.3% Age 35 to 44 years 85.4% 76.4% Age 45 to 54 years 79.9% 70.9% Age 55 to 64 years 29.8% 36.3% Share of part-time employment in total employment (2010) Total 12.8% 19.2% Male 5.8% 8.7% Female 21.1% 31.9% Educational attainments of economically active population (2010) Pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education 10.2% 23.7% Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education 69.5% 48.6% First and second stages of tertiary education 20.4% 27.7% Occupation structure of employed population (2009)** Highly skilled occupations 38.1% 38.8% Legislators, senior officials & managers 6.5% 8.4% Professionals 11.3% 13.9% Technicians 20.3% 16.5% Medium-skilled occupations 53.6% 51.3% Clerks 10.6% 10.7% Service & sales workers 13.3% 13.9% Skilled agricultural workers 2.7% 4.3% Craft and related trade workers 15.5% 14.0% Plant and machine operators 11.5% 8.5% Low-skilled occupations 8.3% 9.8% Elementary occupations 8.3% 9.8% 15

18 Appendix 1: Factsheet on labour market in centrope (continued) NUTS 2 level data* centrope Unemployment rates by skill group (2010) Pre-primary, primary and lower secondary education 15.3% 15.8% Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education 8.0% 9.0% First and second stages of tertiary education 3.4% 5.4% Commuters in % of population (2010) Cross-border 1.8% 0.7% Within country 10.3% 6.6% Education system data Social sciences 38.7% 40.6% Science, mathematics 2.2% 2.6% Life sciences 3.5% 3.7% Physical science 2.2% 3.2% Computer science and use 5.3% 5.6% Engineering, manufacturing and construction 3.6% 1.9% Agriculture and veterinary medicine 10.8% 13.7% Health and welfare 5.3% 4.4% Participation rate in lifelong learning (2010) 8.3% 9.1% Source: Eurostat. * NUTS 2 level data include NUTS 3 level regi ons that are not part of centrope. ** Data taken from microdata files of EU Labour Force Survey EU-27 16

19 Mai 2012 The full report is available as download from Supported by funds of the European Union CENTRAL EUROPE Imprint Published by the centrope agency on behalf of the centrope capacity partnership. Responsibility for the contents: Karol Frank (EU-SAV), Peter Huber (WIFO, Co-ordinator), Luděk Kouba (MENDELU), Mihaly Lados (WHRI), Roman Römisch (wiiw), Petr Rozmahel (MENDELU). Edited by: Johannes Lutter, Europaforum Wien Layout and illustrations: claramonti grafik, Vienna. Pictures: centrope agency Clara Monti/Gerhard Feilmayr, Thinkstock Printed by: Simply More Printing, Vienna

20 meet europe. meet centrope.